At the urging of some like-minded Texans, he agreed to run for the Libertarian Party nomination for AG (a race he won) on the condition that he would use the campaign to make his case for legalization.

His efforts have dovetailed with the recent emergence of the Houston-based Medical and Personal Freedom political action committee. The founders of the group have selected Balagia's campaign as a vehicle for their pot-legalization crusade, dubbing the AG's race a “roll-your-own reeferendum.”

With his salt-and-pepper ponytail and long white goatee, Balagia looks like a cross between a ZZ Top roadie and a contestant in a late-period Howard Hughes look-alike contest.

Once you get past appearances, however, it's clear that he's a highly unorthodox champion for the legalization cause. For one thing, he served 11 years (1979-90) in the Austin Police Department, including two years as a narcotics officer.

For another, he is a devout member of the congregation at John Hagee's evangelical Cornerstone Church, where he often finds that pot legalization is not looked upon with great favor.

Allan Vogel, co-founder of the Medical and Personal Freedom PAC, said his group took a close look at other statewide candidates but found Balagia uniquely equipped to carry their message.

“Jamie kind of stood out from the pack because of his background,” Vogel said. “It's the fact that he's been on both sides of the issue.”

By his own admission, Balagia battled cocaine and alcohol addiction during his years on the Austin PD, and was fired from the force amid allegations that he failed a drug test before successfully suing to get reinstated.

As a lawyer, he has focused on drug-and-alcohol defense cases, earning the nickname “The DWI Dude,” and driving a lime-green smart car decked out in marijuana logos and known as the “Weed Mobile.”

In April, Balagia was sued by the disciplinary arm of the State Bar of Texas, which alleged that he wrongly kept $50,000 seized from two of his clients by drug-enforcement officials, and later returned to the lawyer when it could not be proven that the money came from the sale of drugs. Balagia has denied the allegations.

Balagia said his stint on the Austin PD convinced him that strict pot laws only reinforce distrust of law enforcement, particularly in minority communities. He added that he never witnessed any acts of violence caused by marijuana use.

“A police officer says he smells marijuana,” Balagia said. “So what does he do? He gets everybody out of the car and makes them lay down. He's pointing guns at people, and he's searching. For what? A piece of plant rolled up in a piece of paper?”

Balagia's AG campaign represents an odd match between agenda and political office.

For example, one of his campaign catchphrases is “Potheads for Potholes,” based on his notion that revenue generated from marijuana legalization could go to road repairs. But as attorney general, he would have no power to push forward legalization or allocate any revenue that would come from it.

You get the sense that the office doesn't really matter to Balagia or Vogel, because this is a send-them-a-message campaign, not a win-an-election campaign. The dream for these guys is to get 15 percent of the vote in November and build a modicum of momentum for a medical-marijuana lobbying effort during next year's legislative session.

“We get no respect on the issue from either party,” Balagia said. “The Democrats claim to support it, but they never do anything. And the Republicans, when they were in college they all smoked weed, but now they sit there and wave the flag and the Bible.

“If we can get a core group of people to say, 'I'm going to vote for this Balagia nut because of this one issue,' we can send out a message in this election.”